


Nobody's perfect

by deerna



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Genyatta Week, M/M, Other, Pre-Slash, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 19:10:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11319801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deerna/pseuds/deerna
Summary: Genji and Zenyatta were supposed to meet one of the monk's friend while they were in town, but a change in plans has them joining a drive-in projection ofSome like it botinstead.Go figure. A monk who based his philosophy entirely on the power of words and sharing one's mind apparently had a thing for a genre that used misunderstanding and miscommunication as a plot device.





	Nobody's perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Genyatta Week Summer Edition - Day 1: Movie Night / Drive-in
> 
> \---
> 
> It contains vague spoilers of the movie _Some like it hot_ , but I did make some consistent changes to the plot of the movie. I took a few liberties with it, haha. I know that the in-game poster has the lady protagonist played by a human woman, and the two omnics are still dressed as women, but I made a few changes so that the plot would resonate more with Zenyatta and Genji's experiences.

“I’m so glad we saw that poster, Genji,” Zenyatta said, sounding pleased as punch as he leaned back against the seat. 

Genji was glad that the visor hid his expression, because he couldn’t really keep from smiling at Zenyatta’s delight. His master was often appreciative of the beauty and the joys of life, so it wasn’t rare to see him excited about things, but Genji had never seen him so _giddy_. 

They supposedly were in town to meet one of his friends (another omnic who had their spiritual awakening thanks to the Shambali, but that had decided that holing themselves up in a monastery wasn’t for them), but Zenyatta had decided to put that mission off in favor of joining a drive-in projection of _Some like it bot_ , going as far as having Genji rent a car so they could go. 

It wasn’t the first time that something like this happened. Genji used to find weird that a _monk_ could be so passionate about cinema, but after all Zenyatta was a monk in name only; his views about life and spirituality diverged from the ascetic and simple ways that Genji had learned from the Shambali, sometimes _very_ drastically. 

Genji’s master valued sensual pleasures and strong emotions as part of what made him alive. He spent a lot of time talking openly about it, comparing and contrasting the way everyone -humans and omnics alike- experienced those things; he strongly believed that the common essence between them (what he would often call _soul_ ) was the way both of species could feel the same and in million of different ways at once in wildly diverse situations. Exploring that variety, and learning to embrace it, was the purpose of Zenyatta’s life journey, and it wasn’t something he could do while meditating his existence away on top of a remote mountain in Nepal. 

“Have you seen this movie before?” Zenyatta asked. 

“I can’t say I have, no.” 

“Really? It’s pretty old, but it’s such a _classic_. Groundbreaking for its time, really. One of my favourite movies, though it’s just a light-hearted comedy- Thespion is absolutely _wonderful_ in it.” 

It was a bit cramped in the car, but Genji didn’t mind; Zenyatta was being mindful of his personal space by keeping his orbs as tight as possible against his own neck, though they chimed faintly every now and then as the monk’s excitement slipped through them. Genji had parked in a good spot, not too close to where the screen was supposed to be, and pushed the seats all the way back, as far as they could go, so they could lean back comfortably. 

The only thing missing now was the movie itself, and maybe popcorn. Genji had considered buying some at the entrance, together with something to drink, but the thought of removing his mask in a place where people could have easily seen him gave him the chills. It wasn’t like he would’ve enjoyed them, anyway; since the last hardware update, nothing tasted right anymore. 

The lights of the parking lot suddenly went off, and one of the biggest hard light screens Genji had ever seen lighted up in front of them.

“Ah, it’s starting.” 

It was immediately apparent why Zenyatta liked the movie; the story was about two entertainer omnics that had to hide after having witnessed another bot in their group go murderous on a bunch of humans, afraid that they could be mistaken for the culprits. 

Considering that Zenyatta had called it a comedy, it had pretty dark premises; but the actual tone of the movie became clear after a few scenes: it was a _romantic_ comedy.

Go figure. A monk who based his philosophy entirely on the power of words and sharing one's mind apparently had a thing for a genre that used misunderstanding and miscommunication as a plot device.

“How don’t they see that they’re _clearly_ omnics? Their disguises aren’t that good,” Genji wondered out loud as the two bots successfully managed to join an orchestra that hired only human members (except for Viola, the main singer, who was an omnic solely for the reason that she clearly was meant to be the love interest to one of the two main protagonists.) 

Zenyatta chuckled. “That’s part of the humour.” 

The misunderstandings and the plot were so heavily tangled that Genji found himself engrossed in the story, despite the unlikeliness of it all. Sharp, the main protagonist who was clearly meant to get the girl in the end, kept scolding his partner because ‘ _humans don’t flirt with omnics, K04’,_ just as he weaved an elaborate plan to get to Viola anyway; K04, played by Zenyatta’s beloved Thespion 4.0 in the meanwhile had a whole subplot where he got romanced by an oblivious rich human who had fallen in love with him- human that he had actually _considered_ to marry at some point, which got him _another scolding_ because ‘ _omnics don’t marry humans, K04_!’ 

Once you got over the sheer absurdity of it all, it _was_ kind of funny. 

Eventually the plot came to its natural end, with the two bots being cleared of their suspected crime, Viola discovering Sharp’s true identity and realizing her dreams of love true, and K04-

“ _We really cannot get married, Larry,_ ” he was trying to say, as the man carried him away on his luxurious hover car. Somehow he managed to sound like he was gritting his teeth, even though, being an omnic, he obviously didn't have them.

“ _Oh, Keith, my love_ ,” Larry answered, dreamily. “ _Is it because of your family? We don’t have to tell them, we can just run away._ ” 

“ _No, we can’t! I’m going to be level with you, Larry. We can’t get married at all._ ”

“ _Why not?_ ”

“ _Well, I don’t really swim that well. I stuff the shoulderpads of my jackets._ ”

“What the hell,” Genji half-laughed, even as he dreaded the moment of the revelation. How was Larry going to react to the fact that the man he loved was a piece of metal?

But Zenyatta actually _shushed_ him. “This part is wonderful.” 

The omnic on the screen kept going with increasingly more absurd reasons for not getting married, to which Larry serenely answered that he just didn’t care, until K04, exasperated, ripped the flimsy latex mask from his face, revealing the metallic surface of his head module. 

“ _I’m an omnic!_ ” 

“ _Well_ ,” Larry shrugged, without missing a beat. “ _Nobody’s perfect._ ” 

Genji bursted out laughing so hard that his visor clicked off by itself, and had to shove a hand to his face to keep it in place. Zenyatta at his left was laughing just as hard, orbs flying wider for just a moment, filling up the cramped space, before he remembered to pull them close. 

He took a long while to compose himself, mirth and warmth and _relief_ flooding his guts.

“So, did you enjoy it?” Zenyatta asked him, as he attempted to gain back some semblance of composure, spheres starting to spin around him in anticipation. “I told you that Thespion was really good in this one.”

“It was really funny, I liked it,” Genji wheezed, still out of breath. “And you were right, Thespion was really good in this. Mostly because his character's storyline was more interesting than the bread and butter main storyline” He cringed a little. “Well, if you pretend that his whole romance subplot isn't mostly played for laughs, I guess.”

“It's kind of offensive if you don't know the ending,” Zenyatta conceded. “But that last scene sheds on their relationship a whole new light, doesn’t it?.”

“Yeah.” Genji chuckled. “Larry was _completely unphased_ , what the hell.” He shook his head. “I was terrified that he was going to push K04 off the car or something. I really wanted for them to have a happy ending too,” he admitted.

“A legitimate fear, but Thespion has always been very into omnics rights. He wouldn't have allowed for something like that to happen in one of his movies.” 

Many cars around them were starting to get away, as the ending credits rolled on the screen. It was comfortably quiet.

“Do you think K04 loved Larry?”

“It's subtle,” Zenyatta hummed. “And I guess at a second viewing is more apparent- but yes, I think so. There's definitely attachment there. I feel that the most telling sign was him trying to discourage Larry from marrying him. Omnics and humans _cannot_ marry after all- he was trying to protect him.”

“It's your favourite movie.” Genji was suddenly hit by the fact that Zenyatta had to have seen it thousands times. “Why?”

Zenyatta paused. “Because, ultimately, Larry did not care. He saw K04’s soul, not what he was physically made of. There aren't many humans like that.”

There weren't many omnics like that either, but Genji kept his mouth shut. He knew that omnics had every good reason to be diffident of humans. He had never realised until he looked like one. 

“And also because I find Larry courting K04 very cute,” Zenyatta concluded, with an amused tone.

“I didn't peg you for a romantic,” Genji teased him, as he finally turned the keys in the ignition to leave the almost empty park lot. 

Zenyatta laughed. “That's the first time anybody told me that. Mondatta always said that I fall in love too easily.” The orbs suddenly stopped mid air, chimed all at the same time and started spinning in the other direction. 

**Author's Note:**

> It was supposed to be cheesy and fluffy- have a bittersweet character study with a hint of onesided-not-yet-confessed-feelings instead. I don't know what happened. 
> 
> Come yell at me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/somewhatclear) or [tumblr](https://somewhatclear.tumblr.com)


End file.
